Ancient Pu-Erh

Steepster will absolutely not let me log World Market’s Mountain Wulong, under either of it’s listings, I tried several times today. I tried two days ago back when I actually drank it. No luck, I get an error message everytime. I saw that Jason was consolidating duplicate teas and while both show up and I was able to add one to my cupboard no logging. Anywho!

I received Mountain Wulong and Ancient Pu-Erh from my sister for Christmas, both loose leaf. I haven’t tried the pu-erh yet, but was pleasantly surprised with this one. I wasn’t sure what kind of oolong it was going to be but based on the reviews, I was hoping for dark and wasn’t disappointed. Nice wiry brown leaves with some silver mixed in. The scent reminds me of an Oriental Beauty or Darjeeling even though I know its from China. And the taste is nice sweet stone fruit, mineral and herbaceous notes.

It reminds me of the first Oriental Beauty I tried almost a year ago that opened my eyes to a whole other world of tea and led me to Steepster. I’ve had teas more complex and unique in the last year, but this is very nice. A good everyday oolong with enough sparkling moments to make it engaging. See this is me being not snobby. Will try to move the note to its proper page once the issue is resolved. Happy 250 tasting notes to me!

I had no idea that World Market made Pu-Erh along with it’s other teas. When I saw this in the tea section, I absolutely had to try this. What a wonderful surprise to a shopping trip aimed at buying chocolate.

I edited this review to include several separate steepings
-I steeped this tea Gaiwan style, and did 30+ second steeps each time.

Leaf Quality:
The leaves were chocolaty-brown, and several leaf buds were present. Longer leaves (and the name) hinted that this Pu-Erh may have been produced from Ancient Arbors. They smelled very earthy, but also malty and sweet. After “washing” the leaves for 10 seconds, I noticed a great woody aroma. This was very refreshing.

Brewed Tea:
First Steeping: This is one of the lighter Pu-Erhs that I’ve had. It wasn’t as astringent as I had expected for a ripened “Shou” tea. The liquor was a dark, pinkish-brown, and smelled typical of a Pu-Erh. The malt from the dried leaves showed up in the brew, and was quite welcomed, as it made the tea a little more robust (again, this was very light).

Second Steeping: This brew was only slightly lighter than the first. This cuppa was much sweeter, less malty, and more floral. It retained the same earthiness as before. It was a very smooth couple of sips. I also noticed a hint of mushroom in the background. Very nice.

Third Steeping: The tea showed more malt and leather notes this time. I got a slight smell of mushroom, but it wasn’t present in the taste. Very smooth and reminiscent of pine wood.

Fourth Steeping: The tea started getting lighter in color here. Muscatel notes showed up, as well as more Pine flavor. The earthiness remained as strong as it was in the first steeping.

Fifth Steeping: The Pine notes were completely gone, and the tea was only a slight bit earthy. A very floral brew with a hint of nuttiness.

I didn’t encounter the “fishy” taste with this tea, as other reviewers did. I suspect that some didn’t wash the tea first. This tea is great for the price, though I wouldn’t age this tea further.

This is only the second Pu-Erh product that I have tried, so my realm of experience is very limited. I think it would be unfair to make comparisons until I expand the field some more. I’ll instead judge this one on its own merit.

Since I prefer strong robust teas in the morning, I brewed this tea for the full five minutes at 212 degrees. The aroma reminded me of newly tanned leather. Images of mahogany wood also came to mind. The color was a rich dark brown, like black coffee.

The flavor was not as strong as I would have liked. It had a medium-power malty, earthy, and leathery taste. No bitterness appeared, even after the maximum steeping time.

I said I wasn’t going to compare the two Pu-Erh teas that I’ve tried, but I can’t deny that I found the previous brand (Teavivre) to have a much fuller and more complex flavor. The World Market offering, though, is not bad and is reasonably priced. I will drink the 50 cups that I paid for but will continue my search for better entries in this arena.

Tried this last night, when i was having some digestion issues. I was not fond of the scent or taste. It has a fishy/seaweedy taste. It reminds me or nori. I wasnt fond of it at all. But it did make my tummy feel better.

I might try a higher quality Pu-Erh. Just to say i did.

Very smooth and soothing shu. It’s like my chicken soup :)

Fairly decent pu’erh. Definitely not as good as some I’ve been drinking recently (see my tealog).

Very smooth; overall earthy aroma and taste.
Flavor Notes:
•Leather
•Cedar (woodsy)
•Subtle hint of mushroom.

Aroma:
•Leather

having never tasted pu erh tea cakes or aged pu erh, I’m just guessing my way through my first bag of this. wash it first before your brew it. I also, strangely, think it tastes good with milk (2%), until its a terra cotta color. I brew the life out of it every time, and it holds up for a different taste every time. a good stand-by, but i’m looking for further adventure in pu erh.

I steeped this for 90 seconds, they recommend 1-2 minutes, so I went half way. Dark dark, looks like coffee, but with a reddish tinge. Smell is damp grassy kind of smelling. The taste is mellow, contrasting the dark color. It’s mellow, smooth, and a little sweet, like a blend of an oolong and a pekoe. It reminds me of my mom’s old tea pot she brought with her from China almost 40 something years ago (she still has it and the basket, and uses it!), just very earthy and pastoral. So so nice, and a good pick from World Market!

So I’ve had this Pu-erh for a while. I ran out of my Adagio samples so I’m resorting to this while I wait for my Verdant order to come in. (So excited!)

Not so bad! I rinsed my leaves this time and it made it much better.
Smoky, earthy and slightly sweet for my first steep. I’ll update for my other steeps later.
Hopefully the sweetness and malty-ness will come out in my next steeps.
I’m brewing it in a 2-cup teapot with 3-teaspoons of Pu-erh.
It’s a little weaker at the finish than I’d hoped. I want it a bit stronger.

This is my first Pu-Erh, but I think it is a good start to the journey. I really enjoy the second steep of this one—there is a golden, grassy note that doesn’t come out with the first brew. There’s almost a “thick” nature to this tea…I’d say it tastes almost broth-like, but maybe it’s the earthy, loamy nature that I’m really detecting. I like to drink this one if I’m not feeling the best. Maybe it’s the power of suggestion that I’m getting from the packaging, but it really does seem to help my stomach if it’s off.

Ahhh, World Market’s Ancient Pu-erh Tea. I met this tea quite a few months back. This, friends, was the first Pu-erh tea I ever tried, and it was also my first ever loose leaf tea. I remember that first cup – I spent the whole time drinking it with an odd expression on my face, puzzling, grasping for the right words and the right description. It was so different; I couldn’t place what the tea reminded me of. And then when I did realize what it smelled like, I was shocked: was I drinking something that – gasp – smelled like hay?

As far as taste goes, it’s actually a very smooth and rich tea. I detect a slight smokiness, and like others have mentioned, a little bit of a leathery, even nutty, taste. Personally, I almost NEVER add anything to my teas, but I have heard that this tea tastes good with milk or honey. Also, this Pu-erh tea is supposed to aid in digestion, so it’s suggested as an after-meals tea.

The bag (which cost me about $8) yields 50-55 cups, and you can get several cups out of each infusion (just add a few minutes steeping time for each additional cup). Boiling water is recommended (brings out the fullest flavor), and recommended infusing time is 4-5 minutes (although I have done if for closer to 3 minutes, and that was fine too).

Folks, this isn’t your ordinary tea. I like to think that if it were a person, it would be one of those television survival men, like Bear Grylls or Les Stroud. This tea embodies “nature”, and it’s nothing if not “outdoorsy”. I could throw out more adjectives, like “earthy” and “woodsy”, but I think you get my point.

This isn’t a city-boy tea.

Very nice rich taste. Not bad for World Market, and the fact that I can get this in town and not have to order online.

To be honest, after reading some of the other reviews, I realize I probably don’t have as intense of a knowledge of how to make the tea to actually rate this tea well. ;) Haha I received it from my family after they decided it was weird/unpleasant, but I found it rather delicious with milk. It is a tea that has grown on me, and could potentially take some getting used to. After reading the reviews, I’ve decided I want to experiment a bit more with the steeping process, as well as how I drink it. Thank you, Steepster!

Mother Gaia in Tea form! A wonderful starters tea for anyone interested in exploring the world of Pu-Erh. The taste of of the soil is grown in , the malty and rich taste you get with each sip, its like feeling your the tea itself absorbing the nutrients it absorbs and nourished by it! A definite standby for me!

1 teaspoon (~2g) brewed with boiling water for about a minute provides a cup that is best described as “smooth”. The taste is not too strong, but noticeable. Brewing for up to five minutes increases strength of taste linearly but does not bring about bitterness.

I’m no expert, in fact this is the first time I’ve tried pu-erh tea, and had no idea what to expect when it came to the flavor. It is very different than green, black, or oolong tea. It has a smell that is a bit like hay, with a flavor that reminds me of almonds, and is very smooth with no strong aftertaste. I was pleasantly surprised, but that sort of hay-like smell put my husband off drinking it because he spent too much time shoveling hay in a barn in his youth. All the more for me!

Color: Dark, thick and oily
Nose: berries and hickory smoke
Taste: berries on the front end, add a hint of hickory smoke on the midpallete, and the finish moves on to a grilled meat type flavor